Detachable handle apparatus for casserole dishes or the like



I March 4, 1969 SEIICHI MAKlTA 3,431,006

DETACHABLE HANDLE APPARATUS FOR CASSEROLE DISHES OR THE LIKE Filed Sept.8, 1966 United States Patent Ofi ice 3,431,006 Patented Mar. 4, 19693,431,006 DETACHABLE HANDLE APPARATUS FOR CAS- SEROLE DISHES OR THE LIKESeiichi Makita, Nagoya-shi, Aichi-ken, Japan, assignor to Nippon TokiKabushiki Kaisha, Nagoya-shi, Aichi-ken, Japan, a corporation of JapanFiled Sept. 8, 1966, Ser. No. 577,904

Claims priority, application Japan, May 27, 1966, 41/ 48,903 US. Cl.29431 5 Claims Int. Cl. A47j 45/10 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Adetachable handle apparatus for connection with an object having anintegral extension extending therefrom, said handle apparatus includinga handle portion which is secured with respect to the extension by meansof "a clamping member pivotally connected with respect to the handleportion and adapted to be cammed into a locking engagement with theextension by means of a locking lever connected with respect to saidhandle portion for pivotal movement in a horizontal plane.

The present invention relates to a detachable handle apparatus forcasserole dishes or the like and more particularly to a locking meansadapted to detachalbly secure the handle apparatus to an ear member oran integral extension provided at the edge of a casserole dish or thelike.

In cooking foods using an even, it is necessary to use a handle forremoving a heated casserole dish or the like from the oven withouttouching it with the hand. If the handle is permanently fixed to thecasserole dish or the like, however, it provides an obstacle to theinsertion of the casserole dish in an oven. In this view, various handleapparatus have been proposed for the purpose described, which areadapted to be attached to a casserole dish or the like removably.Examples of such handle apparatus are those disclosed, for example, inUS. Patent No. 3,065,016 to A. W. Serio, dated Nov. 20, 1962, andentitled, Detachable Handle Apparatus, and in US. Patent No. 3,065,017and US. Patent No. 3,065,- 018, all entitled the same.

These detachable handle apparatus of the conventional types include, asa locking means for securing the handle apparatus to a casserole dish,means comprising a clamping element pivotally connected to the handleapparatus in the proximity of the inner end thereof and an axiallyextending shaft adapted to be operated at the outer end of the handleapparatus to engage said clamping element with an ear member or anintegral extension outwardly extending from the side of the casseroledish. With the means described, rotation of the shaft, for example,about the longitudinal axis of the handle apparatus pushes the clampingelement forward at one end by an actuating member provided at the innerend thereof, causing the other end of the said clamping element to bepressed against the integral extension of the casserole dish, where- [bythe handle apparatus is locked with the casserole dish.

Such handle apparatus of the conventional type, however, have theinconvenience that the operation of the handle apparatus required bothhands, i.e. one hand for holding the main body of the handle apparatusand the other hand for operating a knob provided at the outer end of theshaft.

Another disadvantage of such handle apparatus is that, since the shaftfor the actuation of the clamping element extends through the main bodyof the handle apparatus, it is impossible to clean all of the movableparts in said apparatus satisfactorily and as a result there remains thefear that the operation of the shaft would be impaired by foreignmatters possibly attached thereto during the use of the handleapparatus.

The present invention has been achieved with a view to eliminate theaforementioned drawbacks of the conventional handle apparatus and,therefore, has for its primary object to provide a detachable handleapparatus which can be operated with a single hand.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a detachablehandle apparatus which is simple in construction and which can bereadily cleaned so as to pre elude possible malfunction of the handleapparatus.

The present invention will be illustrated in further detail withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the handle apparatus of the present inventionin engagement with a casserole dish or the like;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of FIG. 1 with a portion shown in section;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional view o the handle apparatus inan unlocked position; and

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of FIG. 3.

Referring now to the drawings, reference numeral 1 generally indicates acasserole dish to be clamped by the handle apparatus of the presentinvention, which casserole dish is provided at the peripheral sidethereof with an ear member or an integral extension 2.

The handle apparatus of the invention, which is generally indicated byreference numeral 3, is composed of a handle grip member 4 and aclamping member 5-, and said clamping member 5 consists of a main body 6and a neck which is stuck into the inner end of the handle grip member4. The end of the main body 6 has a curved configuration conforming tothe contour of the side wall of the casserole dish 1. In both side wallsof the main body 6 of the clamping member there are formed recesses 7 inopposed relation and the bottoms of said recesses 7 provide a pair ofopposite walls 7a for supporting a pivot pin 8. The pivot pin 8 is fixedon said walls 7a at both ends by a suitable means and a clamping element9 is mounted on said pin 8 for pivotal movement, by means of which thehandle apparatus is connected to the casserole dish.

The clamping element 9 is supported on the pin 8 by way of flange 9aprovided at both ends thereof and a section of said clamping element 9closer to the inner end extremity of the handle apparatus 3 has a convexcurved cross section, as shown in FIG. 2, for engagement with a shoulder2a which is formed at the outer end portion of the integral extension 2extending from the casserole dish 1.

A lock lever 10 is pivotally connected to the upper wall of the mainbody 6 by means of a pivot pin 11 at a location approximating the handlegrip member 4, one end 10a of said lever being bent in a hook-like shapeand the under surface of said bent portion sloping upwardly towards thetip end so as to provide a cam surface 10b. The other end portion of thelock lever 10, that is the portion at which said lever is operated bythe hand, is bent in an opposite direction to the hookshaped end 10a, sothat when the lock lever 10 is in a locked position, the portion 10c ofthe lever is arranged substantially parallel to the handle grip member4. A section of the clamping element 9 adjacent the handle grip member 4is flexed upwardly from the midportion of the clamping element such thatthe edge portion 912 thereof is engageable with the lock lever 10. Dueto the construction described above, when the lock lever 10 is held inthe locking position, with the portion 10:: arranged substantiallyparallel to the handle grip member 4, the hook-shaped portion 10a of thelock lever 10 is interposed between the main body 6 and the edge portion9b of the clamping element 9, depressing the upper surface of theclamping element 9 by the under surface of the hook-shaped portion 10a,i.e. by the cam surface 10b, in abutting relation therewith. Theclamping element 9, therefore, makes a pivotal movement about the pin 8clockwise with respect to FIG. 2 and interlocks with the integralextension 2 of the casserole dish 1.

When the lock lever 10 is in an unlocked position, on the other hand,the end 1011 of the lock lever 10 comes off the engagement with the edgeportion 9b of the clamping element 9, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, thusproviding for removal of the handle apparatus 3 from the casseroledish 1. In this position, since the angular portion 10b defining thehook-shaped portion 10a of the lock lever 10 is in contact with the endsurface 4a of handle grip member 4, further movement of the portion 10cof the lock lever 10 outwardly of the handle grip member 4 is preventedand this enables the user to effect the lock ing operation with the samehand in which the handle apparatus 3 is being held. Namely, theconstruction described above enables the great advantage of single handoperation to be obtained.

Furthermore, since the underside of the main body 6 of the clampingmember is open, cleaning of the movable parts in the vicinity of thepivot pins 8 and 11 can be achieved with ease and consequently it ispossible to prevent malfunction of the lever and clamping element 9possibly caused by filth attached thereto.

It should also be noted that according to the present invention, theclamping element may be rendered slightly elastic by means of quenching,so that the desired object can be well achieved even when there is aslight error in the thickness of the integral extension.

What is claimed is:

1. A detachable handle apparatus for connection with an object having anintegral extension extending from the side wall thereof, said handleapparatus comprising a handle grip member; a clamping housing open atthe bottom, extending over said extension, and fixed to the inner end ofsaid handle grip member; a clamping member connected to said clampinghousing for pivotal movement in a vertical plane, one end portion ofsaid clamping member adapted to engage said extension to lock saidclamping housing and said handle grip member with respect to saidobject; and a lock lever connected to said clamping housing in theproximity of said inner end of said handle grip member for pivotalmovement in a horizontal plane, said lock lever having a cam surfaceformed on the inner end portion thereof adapted to engage said clampingmember so that when the outer end portion of said lock lever is pivotedtowards said handle grip member said cam surface cams the other endportion of said clamping member to bring said one end portion of saidclamping member in engagement with said extension, said outer endportion of said lock lever being bent towards said handle grip member,and said inner end portion of said lock lever being shaped so that whensaid outer end portion of said lock lever is pivoted away from saidhandle grip member, said inner end portion of said lock lever engagessaid inner end of said handle grip member to stop said outer end portionof said lock lever at an acute angle with respect to said handle gripmember.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inner end of said clampinghousing has a configuration conforming to the contour of a wall of saidobject and is in engagement with said wall.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a shaft pin extendingacross both side walls of said clamping housing, said clamping memberbeing pivotal about said pin.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said lock lever is pivotallyconnected to the underside of the upper wall of said clamping housing.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said cam surface is formed on theundersurface of said inner end portion of said lock lever and is slopedupwardly toward the tip end of said inner end portion of said locklever.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS ANDRES H. NIELSEN, PrimaryExaminer.

